(SELF PROPELLED ARTILLERY) FERDINAND 722, Kursk, Sch.Pz.Jg.Abt. 654, Oberfeldwebel Klarmeyer

[Panzermechaniker]

So the Hooben is as bad as advertised never mind their "customer service". A guy in the club has their Ferdinand and I love the look of it but apparently as soon as it moves the wheels start falling off

[HERMAN BIX]

The DKLM suspension set up is a must for one of these.
But at USD$177 plus postage its way too rich for my blood...............at the moment anyway.
I do anticipate this losing a wheel on its rare runs but at least I will have one.
Just need a Hetzer to have a good suite of German closed top T.D;s

[Meter rat]

I have tea and toast, a comfortable chair, and I shall sit and watch in amazement as you work your magic.

[HERMAN BIX]

This thing is a bitch to work on.
no other word for it...............well there is , but I would have to ban myself for using it

I will state for the record that the person or team responsible for the design of this have NEVER actually built one themselves.
Because if they had, we would have seen a better variation since its first release in 2010.
The amount of specific fitting adjustment, filing & checking to each part in the running gear is astonishing.

The suspension stations are all in, they all have varying levels of integrity & alignment, but all have the same thing in common...............short lifespan fragility.
Failure is written all over this running gear, and from years of feedback & insight, thats a fact.

Manipulating the components with no space & vague instructions was a challenge to the patience & tolerance, but they are in and the thing now sits on its own running gear.
I do still need to shave the sprockets to fit the tracks but they wont hold me up too much.
I blasted a bit of TS3 German Dark Yellow over the inner faces of the hull and the inside of the wheel stations to ensure no spots are missed before the top coat. Inside hull was blasted with a bit of flat black to give the visible inside a dark hue so no eyesore bright colours ruin the finish.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

"Manipulating the components with no space & vague instructions was a challenge to the patience & tolerance." Here in the Un-knighted States, we call that "modeling."

[HERMAN BIX]

"Manipulating the components with no space & vague instructions was a challenge to the patience & tolerance." Here in the Un-knighted States, we call that "modeling."

Yep, I get that, but self-flagellation is another category

[Rob59]

The last 3 evenings I finished my Elefant.
Some minor things still need to be done, like Balkenkreuzen, tactical numbers and some pinwashing on the roadwheels.

IMG_8305.jpeg (2.7 MiB) Viewed 576 times

[HERMAN BIX]

Mint, thats the look I am going for.
Similar camo as that is typecast on the specific vehicle I am trying to represent.
What green did you use?

[HERMAN BIX]

The soon to be redundant tool and track mounting points on the casemate are backed with scrap & filled with putty ready sand back.
I gently sliced one pistol port cap off the side & will make a plug out of it. The side armour was backed with styrene to make the scale 80mm & a hole drilled & tapered through.
The plug on its chain will be another feature.
Any sink points in the flat panels have been filled with putty to be sanded flat. They are all right on the Zimmerit line height
An Elefant with its Zimmerit hides a multitude of sins!..............no hiding them here on a Ferdinand.
Hopefully I can shave the sprockets thinner tomorrow at work & them get the gearboxes & idler sprockets mounted.

[AlanWhite]

Thats really coming along well and following your progress on this